Of Hatchets and Zombies [CLOSED]

The day began like any other. The populace of the Stableton went about their business as usual. As far as the wasteland went, it was downright uneventful. In fact, it could almost be considered... normal. Nothing was exploding or on fire, nopony had been shot (at least, not within the past few hours), and there was no sense of impending doom hanging over the town. Pegasi and griffins soared through the air, going about thier buisiness. Earth ponies, unicorns, zebras, and also the occasional diamond dog carried out their own earthbound tasks. On the whole, it was downright peaceful. Some individuals might even go as far as to consider it too peaceful.

Lightning Flash, sheriff of stableton, was not one of those ponies. As protector of the town, he thought such days should come more often. However, he had too many other things on his mind to dwell on it. Foremost of these thoughts were the ghouls that had recently been spotted not too far outside town. So far they had only come within sight of the town itself once, but it still bore investigation. So far, nothing too drastic had happened. A few caravans had been beset by groups of strays, but they had all managed to fight the ferals off. It was only a matter of time before one of the caravans went missing, however. Lightning himself had too many responsibilities as the Sheriff to go hunt them down himself, however. Therefore. he had plastered the town with posters. He looked at the one he had just posted, the last of the lot, and nodded in satisfaction. The poster bore the words:

WANTED: GHOUL HUNTERS

A REWARD IS BEING OFFERED FOR THE EXTERMINATION OF A PACK OF FERAL GHOULS RECENTLY SPOTTED OUTSIDE STABLETON

A MEETING WILL BE HELD TODAY AT NOON OUTSIDE THE SHERIFFS OFFICE FOR ANYPONY WHO WANTS THE JOB

The remainder of the poster was taken up with a few details of the job, such as the area the ghouls had been spotted in and the expected size of the pack. On the bottom of the poster was a notice declaring an admittedly paltry reward, but it was the best that could be paid from the coffers of the Sheriffs office.

Crackle yawned. He hated getting up early, but he needed supplies. He wanted to get through with the necessary supply shopping before the town came awake fully and he had to compete with other customers. There were few things in equestria that Crackle dispised other than raiders and the Enclave, and shopping was one of them. Unfortunatley, it was a necessary evil. Not everything required for comfortable living could be scavenged during his forays into the wasteland. In order to accomodate his wandereing lifestyle, occasional adventures into towns were necessary.

He was just emerging from a shop when he took notice of a freshly posted notice on the wall. Ghoul hunting, eh? the griffin thought. I'm in. I need the caps, and I'm getting restless anyway. Its time to get back out into the wastes. He unfurled his wings and flapped a few times, then took flight, setting course for the sheriffs office. It was still several hours before the scheduled time of the meeting, but he was finished with his brief shopping trip and had nothing else to do. He let his mind wander during the trip. It's too damn peaceful, he mused as he landed near the office. Taking a seat in the shade, he sat and proceeded to wait and let the world pass him by untill the time of hte meeting arrived.

Sanctity had been glad when he'd passed the sign offering a reward for taking out the ghouls near Stableton. The damn things had been scaring off the prey for miles around, which had meant that he'd have to spend a day camped in the wastes, which was more than a tad dangerous. Especially when the damn things seemed to be hiding in every flickering waste shadow when you'd been wracked by intermittent insomnia and nightmares all night. If there'd been any Dash around, he would've popped it and just spent the night trekking back. He really needed to find a hunting partner some time soon.

So, after seeing it, he'd decided to forgo the hunting he'd planned for the day and instead wait by the sherrif's office. If a decent enough group turned up, he'd go help them clear the place out. If not, well, there were still a few odd jobs he could get around to doing. A griffon he recognized from what he now knew to be "Nightmare Night" was sitting by the office too. Crackle, if he recalled correctly. He dipped his head slightly in greeting before sitting on one of the benches near the front of the office, where he started to fiddle with the various bits of kit he had in his bag absentmindedly as he waited for the time until noon to pass.

Collateral woke up and stretched, cracking his back. Yet another night passed by with barely any sleep. Part of it could possibly be contributed to his sleeping conditions. Sleeping in a dumpster wasn't the most.... luxurious place for one to sleep, but he did what he had to do. The sidewalk, as he had learned recently, wasn't a great place to be at night. He trotted over to his usual loitering area when he saw one of the posters. Out of curiosity, he decided to take a look.Wanted: Ghoul Hunters. Hmmmm.... do I get pai- ah there we are. Feral ghouls then? Doesn't sound too hard. In all honesty, he desperately needed the caps. It wasn't like the pegasus had a job, or anything else to do, for that matter. Really, Collateral was just 'that colt', and he did not want to be 'that colt'. He was new to Stableton, and he had to start somewhere.

He spread his wings and made his way to the office. Collateral watched as others went upon their business. Today is going to be a good day... Or so he thought. It was still a while until the meeting was supposed to occur, but Collateral could wait. It was really all he did anyway. He trotted up to the side of the office wall and leaned up against it in his usual, careless fashion. Looking to his side, he noticed Sanctity, the not-raider from that one party and a griffon who's name he didn't know. He smirked, Oh, this is going to be fun. Then reality hit him. Crap. I hope I can pass for at least a sixteen year old. Collateral frowned, realizing that what might be the only hope of making a living could be hindered by his age. The number fourteen nearly erased that hope.

Jasmine trotted happily down the street looking for a place to sell all of her weapons. She recently met a large group of ponies all of whom appeared to be quite miserable. Jas thought the perfect way to put them out of their misery was by making them a surprise from the money from selling weapons she kept on hoof. Maybe after they became friends they could go exploring the wastes together!

As she turned a corner she noticed a sign tacked up for all to see. She lessened the distance between her nose and the paper as her eyes scanned over the bold print.

"Ghoul hunterth huh? Well I think that thpreading happinethh in Thtableton ith a bit of a bigger priority right-" She trailed off until the sign mentioned that there would be a meeting outside the sherrif's office. Jasmine perked up as her heart skipped a beat. "OOH! Maybe if I show how good of a shot I've become, they'll finally let me become a deputy!" Jasmine thought back to the last time she was turned down applying to join the ranks of the Stableton Sheriff's department. "Thothe thexitht bathtardth are going to regret putting a glathh theiling over THITH mare. Who thay'th I can't be a deputy?!" The fury to prove herself burned inside her as she thought about all who tried to protect her for being derpy.

Jasmine flew home and adjusted her saddlebags and equipped herself. She then took off into the sky. She blasted through the air looking for the vague shape of the sheriff's office, spotting it shortly and dive bombing it feeling the rush from the sudden drop. She approached the earth, feeling the power of her momentum as she tried to pull up. As soon as she was within comfortable distance she slowed and landed as daintily as possible.

"Hello everypony, tho are you all here for thome ghoul gutting?!" Jasmine looked around her, recognizing the others from the Nightmare Night party that happened not too long ago. "OH MY GOODNETH IT'TH Crackle!" Jasmine offered him a cheery wave before addressing the others. "Hope you both are ready for thome work! Not thure if any of you have theen ghoulth before. My firtht venture out into the wathteth I ran into thome! That mutht have been only a few month'th ago.... Oh wait I haven't even athked what any of you are here for, heh! Thorry if I athumed too much...thith ith the right plathe right?"

Deus had, of course seen the signs posted about Stableton. I wonder if I'll ever get out of this town? She didn't care too much, just curious what else was out there. She hadn't done much exploring when she lived alone with her father, and the same went for her time with The Wanting.

Deus stepped into the sheriff's office and stood there for a moment, simply staring. She looked at those who had arrived. A unicorn, a griffon, and two pegasi. She wondered how many others would be arriving. How many others she'd have to share her reward with. She was sure she could always thin out the numbers once they got away from civilization...

Just kill them all! Greedy whores, after our money! We might need some help. And besides, this will make a great opportunity to meet new ponies, and griffons. These ones will be useless. I need no help terminating things already on their way to death.

She continued staring for a moment, then stepped into the room and sat down in a shadow, completely motionless, unblinking, silent. She watched.

Lightning sat at his desk in the sheriff office, sighing as he sat there staring at the sheets of paper with horribly drawn maps of Stableton. The pegasus had been busy reworking the entire security network, with the help of Kestrel and his other trusted deputies. Thanks to Bonehead's big mouth and overconfidence, he had information that certain guards weren't being the most honest. So, armed with that, the blue pegasus had been weeding out the good ponies from the bad and improving the security on the town. However, a small pack of ghouls had appeared in the horizon and Lightning needed a group of ponies to take them out.

Generally, Lightning would have done it himself but his work here was extremely important so the pegasus put out posters with the promise of caps like he did last time with the hope that ponies will rise to the "challenge." As the pegasus worked, he could hear the sound of ponies outside. Some ponies must have responded to the flyers. He stood up, picked up his hat and put it back on, and began walking out the front entrance.

At first impression, as Lightning looked over the ragtag group of ponies, he wasn't very reassured about how well this group will do. Most of the ponies he didn't know. One pony, he recognized but didn't know the name of. But one other pony, the pegasus did know. Jasmine Beat. The pegasus he met from Stable 113, Starry's sister, and one of the citizens that wanted to become a deputy. The only thing stopping her from being a deputy though...was her intelligence...Lightning didn't have the heart to break it to her as he didn't want to her the yellow pegasus' feelings. All he told her was, "One day. When you're ready."

Lightning adjusted his hat a little bit before walking toward the ponies while clearing his voice. "Ahem. Hello ponies. I am Lightning Flash, Sheriff. I assume you all want to kill some ghouls. Am I correct?"

Crackle was about to dose off when the sudden appearance of Jasmine caused him to jump about 4 feet straight up. Damn! The griffin thought, how does she always seem to just pop up out of nowhere? He took a moment to puzzle out her words. It seemed she was here for the ghoul hunt, which suprised Crackle. He had thought that the friendly mare was a bit too innocent and naieve to be willing to go on a trip like this. He'd had her pinned as a sheltered stable mare, but her comment about already having faced ghouls threw him off. He wondered if there was more to the chipper pegasus than he had assumed, and why she was coming along on this little adventure. Perhaps she wanted an adventure. Maybe she really didn't know tha dangers of the wasteland. Equaly likely was that Jasmine did, in fact, know full well what she was getting into. Crackle shook his head. It was pointless to attempt to figure out what somepony like her. There was simply no way to tell what went on inside her head. He stood, stretched, and vigorously shook his head to clear out the cobwebs.

"No worries Jasmine, this is the place," said the griffin. "I'm here for the hunt, and I'd assume that everypony else is too."

He gestured to the charcoal coloured unicorn he vaugley recalled seeing at the Nightmare Night party and the young pegasus that he had not yet met. It was about this time that a white unicorn mare arrived. Crackle had not met her either; he was fairly sure he would have remembered somepony as... unique... as she was. After several moments of silent observation, the unicorn curled up in the darkest shadows in the area. Well, he thought, that was odd. Between whoever that is and Jasmine, it looks like things might get a bit more interesting after all. Crackle felt a small shiver run down his spine, and got the distinct inpression that he was under observation. As creepy as the newcomer appeared to be, Crackle wasn't too disturbed. This is the wasteland, after all. Wierder things have happened.

Almost immediatley after the white unicorn had taken a seat, a pegasus who Crackle assumed was the sheriff made an appearance. The distinctly blue pony cleared his thrat and addressed the diminutive gathering. Upon the conclusion of the lawbringer's brief speech, Crackle stepped forward.

Sanctity's head snapped up as some rather over exuberant pony recognized Crackle. He dropped the compass he had been fiddling with, catching it telekinetically just before it hit the ground. He didn't know the bright orange Pegasus, but he hoped she could be a little more subtle if the situation called for it.

With his attention now focused on the courtyard, he could see that another pegasus had arrived, a younger one with a tan coat. He at least looked slightly more serious, which was definitely a good sign. There was also a white unicorn lurking in the shadows, who was almost out of sight, and if she'd had a darker coat would've been nigh impossible to spot. He was tempted to use the spell he normally used to find things in the wastes, just to see if there was anypony else hiding out, but he decided that it'd be for the best not to freak everypony out like that.

The sherrif of the town turned up fairly shortly, a blue pegasus who introduced himself as Lightning Flash.

"Yeah" He said, in answer to his question, as he stood up, putting away the various bits of kit he'd been checking back into his saddlebags. He'd been sort of tempted to say that he was there for the ice cream, but decided against it for obvious reasons.

Collateral raised an eyebrow at the ecstatic, frisky pony now known to him as Jasmine Beat. She was seemingly over excited to be here, or maybe that was all in the blaze orange pony's personality. Either way, it was time for the meeting, and it looked like everypony willing to 'exterminate' were present. Then he noticed Deus. A white unicorn looking like she was almost trying to hide in the shadows.

He turned his view to Flash. The blue pegasus looked like he knew what he doing, and that he probably ran the place pretty well. Recognizing Flash as the pony of authority, Collateral gave a salute and calmly stated, "Yes sir." That was it. One could've expected more to come from a youngster's mouth, but he remained silent. He was disciplined, orderly and stood at attention in an almost military fashion, keeping his one eye fixed on Flash.

Although Collateral could've been better equipped for combat, he'd have to make do with what he had, like he usually did. The others around him seemed far more prepared for what was expected.

Jasmine hopped up in joy at the sight of the security pony Lightning Flash. She thought to herself its so nice to keep bouncing into her old acquaintances. She looked him over, it appeared that he was doing a good job wearing that badge. If being a deputy had any way for her to contribute her physics knowledge...She'd be perfect for the job.

"HI FLASHY! I'm ready for some shooting! Come on everypony lets hurry up and clean up the wasteland!"

Jasmine stirred up the dirt with her forehoof. Nothing was going to stop her from getting that party money. She may also get to show the sheriff's office what a real mare can do with a pistol. However that just made her think to herself more. Would that make the stallions more intimidated by mares?

Deus looked at the pegasus, her eye glistening in the dark, Kill? KILL?!?! FINALLY we get to kill shit!! For fuck's sake we've waited so long!! She smiled at his question, "Yes, we are." She wasn't sure he would even notice her in the dark corner she had chosen, but what she said was true. It was clear that was what they were all there for. Why did others feel the need to ask such stupid questions? Unless he was going to gauge their reaction. She suddenly became very serious. She didn't want him knowing about any of her plans. What were her plans? She'd think of something, and she didn't want him to know.

Lightning gave a little nod to the ponies as they each gave their responses. Looks like this was going to be the group. Mentally, the pegasus made his own individual judgments for everypony and griffon. But overall, the outcome on the mission would depend on how would work together. "Alright, well then. As promised, there will be caps but first, you must complete the mission before you will get it."

Lightning would raise his hoof and look down at his Pipbuck, a look of slight impatience on his face. After tapping a few buttons, he would look back at the group. "Alright, listen closely. Information is your best weapon in the wasteland so don't miss any details. There is a pack of ghouls north to northeast of this town. It has been disturbing caravans, traders, and other ponies from traveling along the trails safely. Now, generally, this is something I would deal with myself. However, I am currently in the middle of a very important investigation so I can't afford to spend the time and deal with this issue myself. The size of the ghoul pack is unknown. So stay alert when you're out there. Equip yourself well with what you can get or buy at the town's market. Remember to bring some medical supplies just in case. Which brings me to my last point...come back alive. Leave nopony behind. Anything less is not acceptable. Are there any questions?" The pegasus scanned the faces of the ponies in front of him, gauging their emotion reactions and seeing if any of them need any extra help in terms of gear.

Crackle did a quick check of his gear. Guns? yep. Knife? yep. Raven's Tear? yep. Ammo? yep. Medical Supplies? ...nope. damn, the griffin thought. I hope somepony else has some. I hate shopping. Other than a dissapointing lack of explosives, the griffin was ready to go, provided that somepony in the small party had a healing potion or two. He sighed. At times like this, he wished he was still with the Talons. At least he had always been better supplied. He glanced down at his plasma pistol. It had served him well so far, but it was a bit lacking when compared to the firepower he had once held in his talons.

"As long as somepony here has some spare potions they don't mind sharing when the violence begins," he began, "Im ready to go. Otherwise, we might have to swing by the store on our way out of town."

Collateral shuffled slightly. He hadn't been equipped with a decent armory since he left Stalliongrad months prior. He had nothing but a knife and a wimpy 9mm, not the best few things to be armed with when going up against a feral pack of ghouls. If he had the right armament and a good enough position, he could've easily done this himself, but he did have the proper weapons and supplies to do so, and was forced to put up with something he so very despised. Teamwork. Collateral thought to himself briefly, I need more, but first, I need caps. But how am I going to get caps if I don't have more? He shook his head in frustration. To him, just a simple thought like that could've put his mind into an uncontrollable spiral of questions. Now was not the best time for that. Right now, he needed to focus on the task at hand.

The griffon, now known to Collateral as 'Crackle', had said they might hit the store on their way there. Shopping in public wasn't really Collateral's.... thing. He didn't like it, but he'd do it if he had to. In all honesty, he was far more accustomed to dumpster diving, and would choose that over actual shopping any day. He had just over 300 caps, so he could probably get a few things vital to the operation.

Jasmine nodded in response to Flash, she turned to the rest of the group. Jasmine removed the cover to her saddle bag and examined its contents. It appeared that she would be well-equipped for this mission, all except medical supplies. Jasmine looked the others in her group over.

"Hey ponieth and griffin... Perhapth we should thtock up on medical thupplieth before we leave. Not shure if any of uth are medicth tho we should probably get thome potionth or thomething before we leave. It'th alwayth betht to prepare for the wortht inthtead of wishing we did. Perthonally I'm running low on health itemth..."

Deus didn't even bother checking her equipment, just kept her watchful eye on the others. She had her horn, and that was all she needed. So I'm expected to help these... Little ones? How tiresome. She had really been hoping to wipe them out when they got a good distance from the town. Ah well, the best laid plans of mice and stallions... Or mares, of course. She wondered if she could steal the other's possessions, when they were sleeping, perhaps. She didn't sleep, so that gave her a distinct advantage.

She perked up at the mention of something creating the ghouls. My own way to create an undead army? This little adventure may prove even more profitable than she had anticipated...

He looked around to his partners for a moment after the sheriff had finished speaking, trying to gauge whether they had enough kit to make it. He knew he was good as far as kit was concerned, he had enough supplies for a hunting trip on him, along with what meds and chems he had at his disposal.

Then, the orange pegasus started talking again, her lisp much more evident this time as she asked the group about medical supplies. Then about whether someone was "making" the ghouls. Which he ignored, because well, what did she think? That there was some evil zebra necromancer raising forth the dead, or something?

"I got some stuff we can use..." There was a pause as he struggled for a second, trying to think of her name, before deciding that it wasn't all that important. He'd have plenty of time to find out everyponys name later. "Not exactly a medic though, anyone know much about that sorta thing?"

"So," the griffin began, "We are going out on a potentaly fatal expedition, yet only one of us thought to bring medical supplies, and he barely even knows how to use them?" He sighed. "I almost miss being a Talon. At least then I knew who would be plugging up all the holes... I guess we're gonna have to hit the store after all."

He looked around at the assorted ponies to make sure everyone was in agreement, his gaze lingering on the white unicorn that was still partially obscured. Something about that one gave him the creeps, but he could deal with it. He'd worked beside wierder things than her before, this should be no problem...

"Anyways," Crackle spoke up again, "I'm going to head for the shop. You all can either come with me or we can meet up later on the north side of town."

With that, the griffin turned and flew off. Minutes later, he landed outside the general store and walked inside. He approached the shopkeeper, and asked what medical supplies and weapons the pony had in stock.

Collateral nodded to the griffon and watched as he flapped his wings and flew off to the store. It seemed as if the meeting was over, and the operation had officially begun. But he wasn't ready. He fixed on the others with a cold, passive glare, trying to anticipate their next move.

Since Collateral Damage didn't know where the store was, he simply followed Crackle's path. Looking to the horizon, he found himself staring at the mixed haze of gray and sickly brown. Mystifying, but mortifying, him seeing what a horizon should have looked like. It's a damn shame nonpony down here has ever seen the sun. The real sun. What I would give to bring it back...

They made it to the store after a short while, and Collateral waited behind Crackle for his turn in the line. He had never been to a store in Stableton, always getting what he needed from the dumpster. He was resourceful, and very rarely wasted things. The young pegasus could only wonder what kind of things this store had to offer.

As the griffon and the pegasus flew off quickly towards the store, he blinked a few times and looked at his ground locked compatriots and the orange pegasus who had yet to do anything. The others had just decided to fly off and were going to avoid the winding path those who couldn't fly had to take. He swore, sometimes they must forget that unicorns can't fly. That or they just enjoy rubbing their abilities in the faces of those who don't have them.

"Fucking fliers" He grumbled under his breath as he trotted towards the general store, glad that he had enough healing items already, so he could avoid digging into his now rather meager supply of caps.

Jasmine spent a few moments trying to consider all the possible supplies they would need to make this endeavor successful. After compiling a mental list she turned to notice that the others already left to the general store. She perked up in surprise, turning in a full-circle to look for the others. Noticing that they were all gone, she gave a quick good-bye wave to flash before takiing flight after her team mates.

"BYE FLATH! THHEE YOU THOON!" She zipped off full flight in pursuit of the others soon arriving at the general store for a bit of shopping.

As he walked away, he realized that he hadn't heard the other unicorn move. He turned around to see that the white one had not followed him silently. That probably meant she actually had enough supplies in the first place, or didn't care about meds. Hopefully it was the former. He trotted back to the sheriff's office slowly, where he spotted the white mare still in the shadows, still watching everything calmly.

Deus was surprised that somepony was speaking to her, directly. That didn't happen often. She looked directly at him, her eye focused. "I'm here to kill. I have what I need." He seems friendly! What a nuisance... He'll be the first we kill! She examined him. Young, bloody, new to the wastes. "Why, do you want me to accompany you?"

He laughed sardonically at her response. That was probably the most open anyone had been since he had left... What he used to do. He looked at her a little more closely, noting how battle scarred she looked. It was almost comical, though he imagined he didn't look much better, considering how little time or care he had for his appearance.

"'Course not, just making sure we ain't leaving you a dead mare walking" He said calmly "Good to see someone else actually came here tooled up though"